John Maunder
sunlive.co.nz
Temperatures have been recorded in the Tauranga area at several sites during the last 107 years including the current Tauranga Airport site from June 1990.
The graph shows details of the average daily maximum temperatures, called simply ‘afternoon’, for Tauranga for the months of March from 1913-2021.
March 1947 is not included because of incomplete data.
The average daily maximum temperature for March 2021 was 22.9 degrees Celsius, the eighth warmest on record.
The long-term average afternoon temperature in March for Tauranga is 22.5 degrees Celsius, ranging from the cool March months of 1960 with an average afternoon temperature of 20.4 degrees Celsius, and 1940 with an average afternoon temperature of 20.8 degrees Celsius, to the warm March months of 1916 (24.7 degrees Celsius), and 1938 and 1968 (24.6 degrees Celsius).
It is very common for areas such as Tauranga to have had different observation sites during the years; and the readings from the earlier sites have to adjusted to the present site using ‘standard climatological procedures’. It’s considered the temperature series described here is a fair and true record of what the temperature would have been if the current observation site (Tauranga Airport) had been used throughout the period. It’s important to note that in considering ‘climate change’, the methodology used in computing an ‘official’ set of climate observations is very important – as otherwise erroneous conclusions may be drawn.
The graph of the average afternoon temperatures for March shows generally normal variations from March to March but with some warming over the last 20 years .
From 1913 to 2021, there have been twelve March months with an average afternoon temperature of 23.7 degrees Celsius or more, and 13 March months with an average afternoon temperature of 21.5 degrees Celsius or less.
The nine warmest March months – in terms of average afternoon temperatures on record –in chronological order are: 1913, 1914,1916, 1938, 1968, 2005, 2010, 2013, and 2019..
In contrast the 13 coolest March months – in terms of afternoon temperatures on record –in chronological order are: 1923, 1934,1936, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1960, 1974, 1976, 1992, 1993 and 1998.
The average afternoon temperature for March for the 48 years from 1914-1962 was 22.4 degrees Celsius, compared with an average of 22.6 degrees Celsius for the 48 years from 1963-2011.
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